This is part of a series of blogs from the four entrepreneurs participating in the Women’s Venture Xchange-Africa initiative. The Xchange is a mentorship and exchange program for high-growth women entrepreneurs based in Africa. The initiative is being run by the Case Foundation, the Mara Foundation, the Global Entrepreneurship Network and the U.S. Department of State.
I am in Nairobi, Kenya, with four other women from four different African countries. We have been discussing challenges from our businesses and how we have overcome them. We are learning from each other's unique experiences.
Another agriculture entrepreneur, Annet Ayamba, and I visited grocery shops in Kenya to see how the same products we are manufacturing are packed. We were inspired by the way other entrepreneurs brand their products.
We also met our mentor, Kate Kibirah, who is an award-winning entrepreneur with her company Kate's Organics. This has been a good learning platform for us because Kate has inspired us to never give up, and to stay focused and achieve our goals. Kate started her company with only five products, and now she has expanded to 16 products. All her products are well packaged and branded.
Our group of entrepreneurs discovered we are not consistent in our accounting systems, but through Kate’s advice, we have learned that if we are too busy and cannot afford to hire a permanent accountant, we must have a consultant to come in and assist us in our accounting systems. Therefore, all our accounts will be up-to-date and at the same time we will save money by having a consultant, and not a permanent employee.
Kate also shared with us her challenges that she has experienced over the years, and how she overcame them. One of the challenges she had was of her product name being used by another company because she hadn’t patented it. Most small businesses or entrepreneurs do not budget for patenting, which is an important aspect of a business. We decided that we will put it in our action plan to be implemented when we get back to our respective countries. We also discovered the importance of having a brand that stands out, because a brand that stands out always finds its way to the market without too much effort. We were exposed to Kate's products and how she had invested so much in designing her own packaging to make sure her brand had good exposure.